What I’ve Scene Lately: ‘Something Very Bad is Going to Happen’ marries love and horror

In her column “What I’ve Scene Lately,” Chloe Loquet delivers witty, opinion-forward reviews of the latest in film and television.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques. This review contains spoilers.

Let’s set the scene. There are two days left of spring break and I can’t decide what’s scarier: the impending return to the grind of midterms and due dates, or the fact that I am about to embark on a night of bingeing the buzziest new wedding horror series, “Something Very Bad is Going to Happen.” 

For days, my Instagram For You Page looked like one big advertisement campaign for this much-anticipated return of the Duffer Brothers (creators of “Stranger Things”), who produced alongside creator and showrunner Haley Z. Boston (writer of “Brand New Cherry Flavor”) and lead director Weronika Tofilska (director of “Baby Reindeer”). Amid all this chatter and a killer line-up, the show was set up well for a strong release. But is it horrifying? Is it the stuff of nightmares?

The eight-part series follows bride-to-be Rachel (played by Camila Morrone, known for her role in “Daisy Jones and the Six”) in the five days before she marries her fiancé Nicky (played by Adam DiMarco, known for his role in “The White Lotus”). An unshakeable sense of dread and a series of spooky events lead Rachel to sense that something truly bad is about to unfold. These include Rachel listening to a podcast about a throat-slitting frozen custard shop owner, stumbling upon a slaughtered, maggot-filled fox and stabbing a key through the hand of a peeping-tom stranger who asks, “Are you sure he’s the one?”

Rachel finally arrives at her fiancé’s remote family cabin estate in the woods, where they plan to hold the intimate ceremony after a tone-establishing sequence of fun and games. Nicky’s family is far from warm and cuddly, with a hobby of taxidermying the family pets and a creepy childhood story about the “Sorry Man,” who lurks in the woods cutting open brides. 

After she clarifies that her family-to-be is not out to kill her and discovers the disturbing story behind why she is a semi-orphan, a sequence of tasteful twists and turns leads Rachel to learn that her bloodline carries a generational curse: If she fails to marry her soulmate by sundown on her wedding day, she will die an excruciating death. In other words, if Nicky is not her true soulmate, she will die, but if she does not marry him at all, the curse will be passed to his bloodline. 

Boston’s macabre yet modern world draws on elements from horror history, with clear nods to classics like “The Shining,” “Carrie,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Wickerman.” Easter eggs and allusions are key to the language of “Something Very Bad is Going to Happen,” making it a true ode to the genre.

Visual storytelling is one of the show’s greatest strengths, with the gutsily dynamic and eerily dark cinematography cementing nightmarish images in the viewer’s mind. The visuals are complemented by the juxtaposition between an unnerving score by Colin Stetson (composer for “Hereditary”) and the perfectly curated soundtrack of vintage pop, indie and folk that sets the tone for a twisted, horrifying — and at times darkly comedic — love story. 

Morrone, Dimarco and the rest of the cast deliver lethal performances that keep the audience hooked even amid the script’s occasional lulls and plot holes.

So yes, despite lacking the pacing and jump scares of a traditional horror movie, “Something Very Bad is Going to Happen” is captivatingly scary. It has unfathomable amounts of blood. It has a terrifying curse. And it has the ever-looming presence of Death himself. 

The most horrifying aspect, however, wasn’t the gore or spooky lore, but the fact that it explores one of the most unsettling questions a person can face: do soul mates exist, and if they do, how can you know if you’ve chosen the right person to spend the rest of your life with? 

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure this question is answered by the show’s finale, which depicts a bloody reclamation of independence for Rachel after the curse is passed on to Nicky’s family. She dies only to be resurrected as the witness for the now-cursed Cunningham bloodline, and leaves her boyish ex-beau behind — not exactly your traditional happy ending. But the show successfully plays with the paranoia and anxiety of searching for love and committing to another person. Dare I say this is the perfect break-up binge? It dives into the darkest parts of a relationship and of love, forcing the viewer to re-evaluate what they are looking for in their other half. 

Today, more than ever, it often feels like people fall in love with the idea of a partner more than the actual person. What does that say about today’s dating culture, about the future of love in a world where even the language we use about dating (“ghosting,” “love-bombing,” “body count”) is gruesome? I don’t think I realized just how nightmarish the show was until I sat down with my best friend the other day, swiping away for hours on his Tinder page until we hit the daily limit of likes. My final verdict: the next time you curl up on the couch, pint of ice cream in hand and Hinge profile open, turn on “Something Very Bad is Going to Happen.” Maybe you’ll see something that will haunt your nightmares, or maybe you’ll rethink what it means to find the person of your dreams. Either way, you’re in for a frightening ride.

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